Alert over deadly cocaine found in soft drink

A FOOD safety alert has been issued over a soft drink laced with deadly cocaine.

West Dunbartonshire Council has issued the warning over a Caribbean soft drink, labelled as Cole Cold Pear-D, which has been found to be contaminated with dangerous levels of cocaine.

In December, 33-year-old Joromie Lewis died after drinking a bottle of the pear juice in Southampton.

The council added in its alert that there are no known businesses in its area supplying the product, which is produced for the Caribbean market by a Trinidad-based firm.

Martin Keeley, Environmental Health team leader at West Dunbartonshire, said: "While there are no known food businesses in our area supplying this product we are keen to highlight the risks to residents as the consequences of consuming this drink could be fatal.

"Anyone who has purchased this product should take the bottle to their nearest police station for further investigation."

The Evening Times contacted a number of Caribbean shops in Glasgow, but none appear to stock the drink.

West Dunbartonshire Council also issued an alert over a cold meat product which could cause food poisoning.

The cooked and sliced meat is produced by Village Park Meats Ltd, which is known to supply shops and supermarkets in the area.

The company recalled batches of its vacuum-packed meat after confirming that inadequate controls were in place to prevent the growth of the toxic Clostridium botulinum bacteria.

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An inspection revealed that an extended shelf-life stamp was being applied to all the firm's vacuum-packed cooked meats.

The Food Standards Agency has also warned about the product.

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